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By Seth Vertelney

The veteran midfielder has been capped 73 times by his country, but was a surprising omission from Canada's Gold Cup squad this week.

BOYDS, Md. -- Dwayne De Rosario will not be partaking in next month's Gold Cup, and D.C. United appears set to reap the benefits.

Just days after being dropped from Canada's Gold Cup roster, De Rosario scored the game-winning goal against the New England Revolution to help D.C. United advance to the U.S. Open Cup semifinal. It was his fourth goal in two USOC games after he hit a hat trick against Philadelphia in the round of 16.

After the game, De Rosario was asked about his omission from interim head coach Colin Miller's squad.

"I'm disappointed, but I know for a lot of countries, this Gold Cup is an opportunity for a lot of people to see new faces," the 35-year-old said. "It is what it is. The coach made that decision and I'm going to continue what I do here, and that's putting the ball in the net and creating chances."

One man likely to be a bit less disappointed is United head coach Ben Olsen, who said his team will receive "a big boost" from its captain staying put during the month of July.

What's more, United might not just be retaining one of its best players, it could see an extra motivated version.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Dwayne's pissed off about it and some of this was because of that," Olsen said, referring to De Rosario's strong performance on the evening.

"Dwayne can find motivation in a lot of things," Olsen continued. "He can find motivation in me doubting him at times, he can find motivation in Canada. I don’t care where he finds it, but he's been a real stud the last couple weeks and he looks like he has his edge again."

For his part, De Rosario denied his coach's assertion.

"No. Hell no," was his response when asked if Canada's snub gave him extra motivation.

"I play for this club, this organization to win," De Rosario said. "I don't dwell on that stuff, that's something they have to deal with. I wish the players all the best but me, I'm focused on this cup game. It's a huge game and I like these big games."

Extra motivation or not, the Black-and-Red will be ecstatic to see their captain stick around during the Gold Cup. Canada's loss will most likely be D.C. United's gain.